The Feast of All Carmelite Saints Novena

On November 1, All Saints Day, the Church honors all the saints, both known and unknown, who lived and died holy lives and now enjoy the Beatific Vision. Many are familiar to us – those whom the Church has raised to the altar as saints and blesseds and who have been assigned a proper place in the liturgical calendar. However, there are countless others who are known only to God. So too, on November 14, does the Carmelite order commemorate all its saints, both known and unknown.

The Carmelite order has been richly blessed with men and women, who have made this same earthly pilgrimage we are walking now. They stand ready to be our spiritual companions, to encourage us, to share their wisdom with us. From each one of these great saints we can learn something different about the beautiful spirituality that comes to us from Carmel.

Beginning today through November 14, these short posts will serve as a “Novena of blog posts” leading up to the Feast of All Carmelite Saints, and will highlight a different Carmelite saint each day and the very relevant lessons and wisdom they impart to those of us still making our journey toward God.

Novena Daily Meditations

Click on the images below to pray the daily meditation for each day.

Novena | Day 1

“We need no wings to go in search of God, but have only to find a place
where we can be alone and look upon Him present within us.”
St. Teresa of Ávila ~ The Way of Perfection

From the great St. Teresa of Ávila, Doctor of the Church – “Doctor of Prayer” – we learn about prayer. Despite the loftiness of her thoughts and teaching, St. Teresa remains thoroughly approachable and her engaging nature shines through in her writings, drawing in the reader to want to absorb more of her wisdom. In her Autobiography, she introduces us to the levels of mental prayer: first, we must be searching for God; then we must be willing to spend time alone with Him; and we must look upon God present within our soul. She encourages us to speak (pray) to God, as we would speak with a close, dear friend: “Mental prayer in my opinion is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.” St. Teresa’s relationship with God can truly be called one of a loving friendship and she spurs us on to use her same approach ourselves.

Although intended as instruction for her spiritual daughters, St. Teresa’s “down to earth” advice allows even the beginner to gain immediate understanding in how to develop a deeper, more mature prayer life. As such, St. Teresa is indispensable as one of our spiritual companions.

“Father, by your Spirit you raised up our Mother Saint Teresa of Ávila to show your Church the way to perfection. May her inspired teaching awaken in us a longing for true holiness. Grant this though our Lord.” (Carmelite Proper of Saints)

Novena | Day 2

“Who can make me happier than God? In Him, I find everything.
God is infinite joy!”
St. Teresa of the Andes

Although she was a Carmelite nun living in Chile in the early 20th century, St. Teresa of the Andes serves as a wonderful example for lay people, for the very reason that for the better part of her life, she lived in the secular world. She was sensitive by nature, possessing great intensity of feeling, responding to joy, suffering or love, with great emotional depth.   In light of today’s materialistic world, Teresa teaches us that true, lasting joy and happiness are found in Jesus alone. Teresa’s joy was natural, not feigned. This innate joy was the “fruit of her great love for God, of her total gift of herself to Christ, of the generosity with which she accomplished the will of God and worked hard with the Lord’s grace to purify her heart… allowing God’s joy to overflow in her heart.”1 St. Teresa’s message and example remain relevant today; they serve as beacons of what is truly important throughout out earthly journey.

“God of mercy, joy of saints, you set the young heart of Saint Teresa ablaze with the fire of virginal love for Christ and for His Church; and even in suffering made her a cheerful witness to charity. Through her intercession, fill us with the delights of your Spirit, so that we may proclaim by word and deed the joyful message of your love to the world. We ask this through our Lord.” (Carmelite Proper of Saints)

1 http://www.kilmacudcarmel.ie/teresaandes.html

Novena | Day 3

“O my God, Trinity whom I adore, let me entirely forget myself that I may abide in You,
still and peaceful, as if my soul were already in eternity.”
Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity

From a very early age, Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity experienced an indwelling presence of the Blessed Trinity in the depths of her soul. With unwavering doubt, Elizabeth had a deep conviction of God’s personal love for her and her most ardent desire was to respond to God’s love in kind. This ultimately blossomed into her vocation as a Carmelite nun, and she entered the Dijon Carmel in 1901. Being united with the indwelling Trinity is what Elizabeth teaches us. She encourages us to know with absolute certainty the love God holds for each of His children, of His presence in our ordinary, daily lives and that He remains quietly hidden in the tabernacle of our soul, patiently waiting for us to acknowledge Him, desiring to form a close friendship with us. Her wise example reminds us to set aside time and “tune out” the passing, yet very noisy demands of modern life, and to cultivate a deep, intimate relationship with God.

“O God of bountiful mercy, you revealed to Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity the mystery of your secret presence in the hearts of those who love you and you chose her to adore you in spirit and in truth. Through her intercession may we also abide in the love of Christ, that we may merit to be transformed into temples of your life-giving Spirit to the praise of your glory. We ask this through our Lord.” (Carmelite Proper of Saints)

Novena | Day 4

“I am resolved to give complete obedience in everything without exception,
not only to my superiors, but also to my equals and inferiors, so as to learn
from you, my God, who made yourself obedient in far more difficult
circumstances than those in which I find myself.”
St. Teresa Margaret Redi

Born into a noble Italian family in 1747, St. Teresa Margaret from an early age, desired nothing more than to live a humble, hidden life completely given over to growing in virtue. From the age of five, she felt called to a life of prayer and would spend much time alone in quiet contemplation, pursuing holiness while carefully avoiding drawing attention to herself – to appear ordinary to all around her. Although drawn to the religious life, Teresa Margaret was not quite sure of her vocation. It would be none other than St. Teresa of Ávila herself who would dispel Teresa Margaret’s doubts inviting her to become one of her spiritual daughters in Carmel with these words: “I am Teresa of Jesus, and I want you among my daughters.” Teresa Margaret entered the Florence Carmel in September 1764 at the age of 17.
Teresa Margaret served her community as infirmarian and always presented a serene exterior no matter how taxing her internal or external trials might have been. She was determined to prove her love for God in all her deeds, to conform her will to God’s in all things, to be – in her words – “motivated by love alone.” For those wishing to grow in virtue, it is well worth getting to know St. Teresa Margaret and following her quiet example.

“Father, you enabled St. Teresa Margaret Redi to draw untold resources of humility and charity from the fountain-head, our Savior. Through her prayers may we never be separated from the love of Christ. Grant this through our Lord.” (Carmelite Proper of Saints)

Novena | Day 5

“O my God! I am just too happy of my little sacrifice!”
one of the Compiègne Carmelite Nuns (unidentified)
as she ascended the scaffold
The 16 Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne

The French Revolution and its immediate aftermath – the reign of terror – shook France to its very foundation. The revolution’s rampant anti-clericalism subjected the Church, priests and religious to tremendous persecution, with monasteries and convents being suppressed. The Compiègne Carmel was no exception. Forced to vacate their monastery, the nuns were compelled to divide themselves into four groups, moving into small, separate houses. Led by their prioress, Mother Thérèse of St. Augustine, the 16 Carmelites strove to faithfully carry on with their prayerful way of life for two years. As conditions worsened and feeling evermore certain of an impending call to martyrdom, the community made a daily act of oblation offering their lives to God as a sacrifice to help restore peace to France. The nuns were arrested in June of 1794 and during their three-week imprisonment inspired the other prisoners by their joyful abandonment to God. They were condemned to die by the guillotine because they insisted in remaining faithful to the Church, to their religious vocation and for continuing their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After jointly renewing their vows, each of the nuns placed herself into God’s hands with complete confidence and joy, singing His praises as one after the other they mounted the steps of the scaffold.

That the nuns displayed extraordinary, heroic courage is an understatement. While few of us are called to such a degree of sacrifice, the courage and faith displayed by the 16 Carmelite nuns as they joyfully abandoned themselves to God’s Will still serve as examples to us today when we face the trials of life. An interesting footnote to the nuns’ story: 10 days after their martyrdom, the reign of terror effectively came to an end.
“Lord God, you called Blessed Thérèse of St. Augustine and her companions to go on in the strength of the Holy Spirit from the heights of Carmel to receive a martyr’s crown. May our love, too, be so steadfast that it will bring us to the everlasting vision of your glory. We ask this through our Lord.” (Carmelite Proper of Saints)

Novena | Day 6

“O Jesus, my Love….my vocation, at last I have found it….my vocation is Love”
St. Thérèse of Lisieux

In seeking her vocation, St. Thérèse knew that great deeds were beyond her abilities. Thérèse recognized and delighted in her “littleness”, knowing thereby that she could approach God as a child approaches a loving parent with open arms, with profound trust and completely without fear. Thérèse undertook all her assigned tasks from the perspective of doing it with love. In her interactions with the other nuns in her convent, she showed genuine love to each member of the community, including those with difficult personalities. She displayed neither favoritism nor preference toward any, including her own blood-relation sisters. St. Thérèse enveloped every act she performed in love. Like a child, she trusted in God, as a loving Father, to accept her little offerings and raise her up to perfection: “I wanted to find a lift [elevator] which would raise me to Jesus, for I am too small to climb the rough stairway of perfection….the lift which must raise me to heaven is Your arms, O Jesus!. And for this I had no need to grow up, but rather I had to remain little and become this more and more.” (Story of a Soul)

St. Thérèse grasped the profound truth of love in just the way Saint Paul attests in his first letter to the Corinthians: “…but now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.” Thérèse made this the hallmark of each day of her life. Thérèse’s appeal lies precisely in the fact that her “little way” is attainable for each of us – to ordinary people. St. Thérèse reminds us to live each day of our lives as she did – in childlike confidence of God’s love for us and to offer all we do with love and to leave the heavy lifting to Him.
“God our Father, you have promised your kingdom to those who are willing to become like little children. Help us to follow the way of St. Thérèse with confidence so that by her prayers we may come to know your eternal glory. Grant this through our Lord.” (Carmelite Proper of Saints)

Novena | Day 7

“The Divine assails the human soul in order to renew it
and thus to make it Divine.”
St. John of the Cross ~ Dark Night of the Soul

When Jesus issues His invitation: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me,” most in today’s world will tend to shy away from following Him upon realizing that the allurements of the world are more comfortable and far easier to embrace than the cross. In Dark Night of the Soul, the great Spanish Carmelite mystic, St. John of the Cross, quickly disabuses us of the notion of an easy “stroll through the park” for the soul seeking union with God, as he describes the painful experience and internal trials the soul must endure to achieve unity with God. St. John tells us that the soul must completely purge itself from all earthly attachments in order for it to become filled with God. This seems difficult, because it is. However, St. John encourages us to embrace the trials that come our way because there is real salvific value in suffering. If even by “baby steps” we accept and make our own walk toward Calvary, embracing our own cross in life, we will be following Jesus’ example and our eternal reward will be great.

“Lord, you endowed our Father, St. John of the Cross, with a spirit of self-denial and a love of the cross. By following his example, may we come to the eternal vision of your glory. We ask this through our Lord.” (Carmelite Proper of Saints)

Novena | Day 8

“In order to know God, we must often think of Him; and when we come
to love Him, we shall then also think of Him often, for our heart
will be with our treasure.”
Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection

 Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection has not officially been declared a saint. However, he offers us great insight in how to deepen our relationship with God. Brother Lawrence’s spirituality centered on his profound conviction of God’s love and his own determination to always remain in His presence amidst all his routine chores. Brother Lawrence would simply perform all tasks assigned him, never questioning, because he viewed all the work he did as not being done by him alone, but by him together with God. In doing so, he achieved great inner peace.

The spiritual guidance he gave others, as well as the letters he wrote were consolidated and published as the book The Practice of the Presence of God after his death. Brother Lawrence encourages us to follow his example – to pause, even if only momentarily, throughout the day in the midst of our work and direct our thoughts to God, even if for only a few minutes. He reminds us that as we go about our daily routine – cooking dinner, cleaning the house, balancing the checkbook – regardless of how ordinary the chore might be, God is right there beside us working together with us. Brother Lawrence also assures us that among the fruits we derive in practicing being in the presence of God is a livelier faith and finding strength in Him.

“Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, today we rejoice in the holy men and women of every time and place. May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. (Divine Office ~ Solemnity of All Saints, November 1)

Novena | Day 9

“We should rest entirely in His hands, understanding that His eyes are
always upon us, that He will see to it that we lack nothing and
grant us anything that we need, if it is for our own good.”
Venerable Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament

If one common denominator can be pinpointed among the saints, it is their unwavering confidence in the loving providence of God, and Venerable Mother Luisita was certainly no exception in this respect. Her life was seemingly a series of adventures, which were completely out of her control, compelling her to trust that God would see her through. Although she felt drawn to the religious life, at age 15, she acceded to her parents’ wishes to marry a prominent physician twice her age. God blessed them with a happy marriage, in which the couple inspired one another to grow in their love of God and neighbor. They trusted God when He did not bless them with children, realizing He had other plans for them. So, the couple decided to adopt the poor as their children and built a hospital, schools and orphanages to serve the less fortunate. 

After the death of her husband, Maria Luisa realized her dream of becoming a religious, entering the Carmelite convent. However, on three occasions, she was asked to change course and each time she set aside her own desires to obey the requests made of her, never once question, firmly trusting in God’s manifest designs. Perhaps the greatest trial of her life was the Mexican revolution of the 1920s, which resulted in violent religious persecutions that sought to destroy all she had accomplished, and which ultimately drove her from her homeland. It is easy to imagine the apprehension that naturally comes with leaving one’s homeland dressed in disguise, fleeing to another country and not knowing the language, all the while wondering what to do by ways of supporting oneself. Despite all this, Mother Luisita never faltered, her trust in God’s loving providence remained rock solid. God rewarded her trust and soon her work became established in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, where it has blossomed and continues strong to this day.

Mother Luisita’s courageous example teaches us that despite the sometimes frightening storms in which we find our lives caught up, we must simply place it in God’s hands. Mother Luisita’s counsel to her spiritual daughters rings true for us today, as well: “Look to God, your soul, and eternity, and for all the rest, do not preoccupy yourself. For greater things you were born. God will provide for all of our needs.”

O Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, King and Center of all hearts, look with merciful love upon the petitions we present to You through the intercession of Your servant, Mother Maria Luisa Josefa of the Most Blessed Sacrament. – List petitions – We humbly beseech You to glorify her who was always such a fervent lover of Your Sacred Heart by granting us these favors if they are for Your greater Honor and Glory. Amen.   (Prayer for the Beatification of Venerable Mother Luisita)